A system and method of input/output (I/O) workload analysis of the components in a storage area network (SAN) are disclosed. In one embodiment, I/O workloads of components in the SAN are analyzed by determining host bus adapter (HBA) port to storage port oversubscription ratios as well as HBA port to inter-switch link (ISL) oversubscription ratios. A subset of the components for monitoring based on the HBA port to storage port oversubscription ratios and the HBA port to ISL oversubscription ratios is selected. The subset of the components is continuously monitored and the I/O statistics of the subset of the components are stored. Expected I/O workloads of the subset of the components are forecast based on current I/O workloads associated with the I/O statistics of the subset of the components and respective I/O workload threshold values of the subset of the components.